Ad Operations for Account Execs,taught by Ad Ops experts from AdMonsters, AOL, and the New York Times

Learn and understand the process of operations in online advertising campaigns, including concrete steps that you can take to speed execution and improve the bottom line. Ad Operations for Account Execs explains what the ad ops role is and the key operational issues AE's must focus on when selling to ensure their clients’ campaigns are successful. You will hear strategies for managing the complexity inherent in today’s interactive advertising environment and how to avoid common pitfalls in areas such as targeting, prioritization, and rich media execution. The new IAB Ad Operations best practices will provide a framework for discussion. Plus, real-world case studies will demonstrate the potential dangers of ignoring these critical factors.

Intended for Account Execs new to interactive, this class will provide a new set of tools for structuring RFPs and winning in the marketplace.

Advertising Effectiveness 101: When and How to Measure the Efficacy of Digital Campaigns, taught by experts from comScore

This seminar will teach the basics of online campaign effectiveness including the capabilities of current analytics, common measures of effectiveness, and how to manage measurement projects efficiently.

Led by Anne Hunter, VP Ad Effectiveness Products at comScore, this class can help address the following questions:

What type of measurement should I use for a brand campaign online? Direct response?

How can I discern the varying contributions of different placements, creative and publishers?

How can I compare online efficacy against offline media?

How can I measure digital’s impact on direct sales that they occur offline?

Why is it important to understand the distinctions between different methodologies - panel vs. survey vs. third party database matches? Can I use these different techniques together?

Who are the vendors offering measurement solutions and what are publishers and agencies able to do in-house?

This seminar is targeted at mid-level media planners, ad sales staff, as well as marketing and research teams from both publishers and agencies, particularly those tasked with proving the value of their media spend.

Best Practices in Yield Management,taught by James Deaker, Director, Microsoft Advertising Monetization Excellence

Two areas that have significant impact on overall monetization capability are pricing and inventory management, or put another way, Yield Management. For publishers, yield management is an increasingly important area of their businesses as they seek to not only sell more impressions, but also to sell impressions at a higher yield, maximizing revenue. As such, the goal of this program is to help publishers monetize their sites more effectively through the utilization of best practice yield/inventory management and pricing methodologies. The course will present an overview of best practices for product definition, inventory forecasting, rate card development and pricing policies. Participants will gain an understanding of the current state-of-the-art techniques, as well as analytical skills for improving the revenue opportunity on their sites. Taught by James Deaker, Director, Publisher Advisory Services at Microsoft.

Closing the Deal with Data: Using Research to Sell,taught by Experts from Hitwise and Scripps Network

With an ever increasing number of new sites emerging weekly and tight advertising budgets, it is becoming more important than ever to know how best to position the value of your site. This course will cover how to navigate the myriad of metrics available to tell the best story that makes you stand out from the crowd.

One of the most valuable assets of your website is the audience that visits regularly to engage with your content, and understanding who they are and their preferences can go a long way during a sales pitch. Participants will gain an understanding about how to leverage research to convey a strong value proposition to potential advertisers, guidance on how to get the most out of in-house research teams, and some “tricks of the trade” to write winning RFPs.

Getting Credit for Your Impressions: Understanding and Using Attribution Models,taught by Morris Martin of the Microsoft Advertising Institute

Digital media has always been defined by its measurability and accountability, but marketers are increasingly realizing the limitations of today’s narrowly defined metrics. Specifically, the last ad standard that has been in use for nearly a decade has become antiquated as ad campaigns become more complex, users spend more time online, and advertisers reach individuals across multiple channels. Analyzing campaign success within distinct silos is highly limiting and assigning all the credit to the last ad served is overly simplistic, and conflicts with marketers’ need for true accountability.

This class will highlight flaws in current attribution systems that limit the efficiency of digital media on both the buy- and sell-sides, and describe ROI metrics that credit success based on a more nuanced perspective. We will outline industry-leading techniques and cutting-edge technologies that are aimed at solving these problems and paving the way for the next generation of defining the currency of online media. Specifically, this seminar will:

Demonstrate research around the amounts of data currently being discarded and synergies being ignored by traditional last-ad ROI systems.

Identify publisher positions in the sales funnel and those who stand the gain the most from holistic, alternative ROI measurement techniques.

Discuss next-generation ROI solutions in detail - including how they will affect publishers – and identify opportunities for publishers to get involved in shaping the space.

Targeted at mid- to senior-level publisher executives, the approaches presented in this class will help you more effectively present your offering to marketers and capture more of the value that your sites bring to the marketing landscape.

In today’s environment, marketers are demanding ROI-based advertising and publishers are increasingly pressured to differentiate their offerings. This class will help publishers equip their sales teams with the expertise and ability to go to market with ad packages that capture the full range of marketplace demand. Publishers can capture more advertising dollars by analyzing sales and audience data to create an integrated sales strategy that manages multiple sales channels, brand and performance ad products, inventory bundles, and customer segments across the full range of a publisher’s inventory.

This class, taught by Yahoo’s VP of Inside Sales & Director of Consulting, will address the following issues:

Why a shift in outlook from seeing inventory as “premium” and “remnant” to seeing it as a “guaranteed” and “non-guaranteed” marketplace can impact your overall strategy

Which performance selling and marketplace strategies extract the most from your full spectrum of inventory

How to build the infrastructure to execute this strategy

Targeted at executives responsible for sales, revenue, and operations, this class will give you new frameworks, insights and discussion opportunities to boost the performance of your advertising business.

Marketing on the Go: Mobile Advertising,taught by experts from Cars.com, Impact Mobile and eMarketer

Mobile advertising has been one of the great opportunities in the interactive space for the last decade, but the unique complexities of this environment have slowed progress. However, with recent improvements in network and handset technology, we may be reaching an inflection point. This seminar will present the current landscape in terms of mobile usage and audience demographics and discuss the impact of rising smartphone penetration. We will illustrate, using real-world examples, how mobile advertising can address the full range of marketing goals. The seminar will detail the spectrum of inventory options available today, from core offerings such as mobile display, messaging, and search to more advanced opportunities such as mobile video, voice ads, app-based advertising and location-based services. Cross-platform approaches will be discussed, as well as the current state of the art in terms of metrics. Finally we will present a framework for creative success in the mobile environment, and the keys to getting started with a mobile advertising campaign.

This class is intended for marketers and media planners looking to explore the mobile advertising space or advance existing, but nascent, mobile capabilities.

Metrics 101 — Understanding and Using Measurement Data, taught by experts from Nielsen

This seminar will teach the basics of online metrics and measurement, and how this environment differs from traditional broadcast or print media in terms of media planning and buying. It will provide an overview of the common metrics used online, including uniques, impressions, and clicks, with the uses for each. Panel-based and server based methodologies will be contrasted, and pros, cons, and issues for each reviewed.

Led by The Nielsen Company, this class can help address the following questions:

What are the fundamental terms for online media planning, buying and execution? Get a rich understanding of Internet terms ranging from uniques and reach to impressions and cookies. Compare and contrast to traditional media terms and create an understanding of reach and frequency online.

Why is it important to understand the distinctions between panel information, web analytics data and third party ad server information? How do these distinctions impact estimates in the online marketplace?

How can publishers and agencies leverage these metrics to help convey a strong value proposition to clients?

Targeted to mid-level and junior ad sales staff and media planners; particularly those transitioning from traditional media to digital landscapes.

Professional Presentations: Turn Information into a Story That Sells,taught by Anne Miller, Advertising, Presentation, and Sales Specialist

At a time when presentation skills need to be razor-sharp, too many ad sellers are “presenting” the virtues of their sites when they need to be “communicating” the value of their sites to advertisers and their bottom lines. And they need to do that in a compelling, engaging, persuasive way with confidence, authority, and credibility.

This 1/2 day seminar will show participants the difference between mediocre presentations that induce client yawns and exceptional presentations that close business.

With a combination of lecture, demonstration, and individual exercises, participants will learn how to:

Properly plan for specific presentations

Instantly connect with their buyer(s)

Build buying momentum for their story and make it compelling and engaging

Turn a presentation from a monologue into a dialogue

Give meaning and clarity to complex visuals

Close easily and naturally to the specific next step in the sales process

Deliver a presentation with confidence, authority, and passion

This seminar is designed for both junior reps with at least one year’s experience who need to get on top of their presentation game as well as more seasoned reps who want to re-tool and refine their performance.

Not only will participants gain a much deeper appreciation of what it takes to make a winning sales presentation and a clear understanding of their strengths and areas of weakness, they will acquire tools, tips, and techniques to apply what they’ve learned and ultimately bring in more business for their companies.

Anne is well-known in the media industry as a respected author, speaker, and seminar leader. In the last twenty-five years, she has taught salespeople at more than 100 print and online companies, including Yahoo!, DoubleClick, PointRoll, UGO, and Visible World, how to sell millions of dollars worth of advertising.

Secrets to Success in Social Media,taught by Geoff Ramsay of eMarketer, Anna Banks of Organic, Inc., and Nichole Goodyear of Brickfish

Getting Started with Social Marketing: Best Practices for Success

Social media and social networking applications are two of the fastest growing segments of the internet. This class will describe the major social media formats and how marketers can leverage their unique characteristics – an engaged audience, two-way interaction, rich profile data and the social graph. After a brief market overview, it will address:

Definition of social media and social networking

Ways to advertise on these popular properties

Analysis of social media’s appeal and discussion of its utility for marketers

Comparison of the different forms of social marketing and how you go about using each

Common processes to buy and execute a social media campaign

Metrics for evaluating success in social media marketing

Some strategic principals and best practices for success, as well as misconceptions about the space and pitfalls to avoid

This class is intended for anyone working to understand the breadth of digital marketing opportunities available today through social media. Marketers, agency professionals and publishers will all benefit through learning the fundamentals of this channel in order to take the first steps towards executing and delivering social campaigns.

Targeting: Reaching the Right Audience Online,taught by Experts from QInteractive and Audience Science

Targeting, largely based on contextual approaches, has always been a crucial component of successful advertising campaigns. However, today’s fragmented media landscape and highly empowered users make it harder and harder to find customers and stand out from advertising clutter. This seminar shows how new targeting approaches, based on innovative technologies and analytic frameworks, allow digital marketers to boost both reach and frequency in their campaigns, extend marketing messages across the purchase funnel, and stand out from competitors who may be over-reliant on the crowded contextual advertising space.

You will learn the important data sources that underlie today’s most important targeting tools, the principles that allow optimization engines to turn data into insight, and the regulatory and consumer privacy pitfalls that must be avoided at all costs. This seminar will help you get started in the world of data mining and segmentation approaches, retargeting, and predictive behavioral targeting, and also provide proven tips and techniques for those looking to take their campaigns to the next level.

Intended for marketers and media planners, this seminar will also be useful for traditional media professionals looking to understand this fundamental capability of interactive advertising.

Understanding and Succeeding with Digital Video Advertising,taught by experts from BBE and eMarketer

Video is an increasingly important part of the online experience, with more and more content available in every category, from user-generated clips to full network programs. And with this dramatic growth of video content, marketers are able to access an entirely new form of advertising inventory that combines the addressability and flexibility of more traditional online formats with the emotional depth and story-telling capabilities that make TV advertising the center of most branding activity. This seminar will place the current user experience in its historical context, outlining the evolution of today’s video advertising, describing the rich universe of content as well as the shape of the audience it attracts. We will discuss the available ad formats and their strengths and weaknesses for various marketing objectives, and what unique capabilities that addressable video advertising brings to the marketing arsenal. Specifically, the class will address these key questions:

What is the consumer experience that is driving adoption of this medium, and what is the path of its likely evolution?

What new advertising opportunities does this medium enable?

Who are the key players and what do they offer consumers and marketers?

Who is doing video advertising well today and what lessons can be drawn from this success?

Why is digital video different from every existing advertising format, and how can you take advantage of these important distinctions?

Richly illustrated with examples and case studies, this seminar will outline proven strategies and provide an operating philosophy that will enable success for marketers looking to invest in this channel.

Experts from IAB member companies will explore today’s video gaming sector and the exciting marketing potential unlocked by the growth of this entertainment medium. The class will debunk a number of common myths about this entertainment and advertising format and provide an overview of the video game landscape and up-to-date demographic analysis of the gaming audience. We will then review the kinds of inventory that exist in and around video games, and the kinds of results they can deliver. From display advertising products published “around games” to custom to dynamic ads purchased through a network, and custom-built “adver-games,” you will acquire the information you need to understand how video game advertising works and the tools to start using it yourself. Case studies of actual campaigns and demonstrations of the gaming experience will illustrate the opportunities for exciting and effective marketing campaigns.